Flush elevator-hatchway



' H. ROWNTREB.

FLUSH ELEVATOR HATOHWAY.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 25,1907.

Patented Mar. 30, 1909.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

H. ROWNTREE.

FLUSH ELEVATOR HATGHWAY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25,1907.

Patented Mar. 30, 1909.

2 SHEETE-SHEET 2.

l l l I l I I I I I I l l l l I I l l I l l l I I I I I a Snow Won IJ-ZA atkgznuw 3 E UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD ROWNTREE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BURDETT-ROWNTREE.MANU- FAOTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FLUSH ELEVATOR-HATCHWAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 30, 1909.

Application filed May 25, 1907. Serial No. 375,640.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD RowNTnEE, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Chi cago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois,

- when all the hatohway doors are closed.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby projecting ledges or offsets are avoided in the hatchway in front of the car door or opening, when'all the hatchway doors are closed, and throughout the entire travel of the car.

Other ob'ects of the invention will appear more fully ereinafter.

The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination, location and ar- .verse section on view in elevation of the inside of the door.

The same part is designated by the same reference sign wherever it occurs throughout the several views.

' In the construction of elevator hatchways as heretofore carried out, the hatchway doors are so mounted with reference to the ceilin and flooring above and below the same, am with reference to the inner wall .of the hatch- .way between floors, and in front of the car door or opening, as to form or leave a projecting or exposed ledge, shelf or other form of extension, above the hatch way door and between which and the-floor edge of the car,

door opening, when'the car is ascending, persons occupying the car are liable to be caught and crushed or otherwise injured, or maimed, if not killed, and especially where the car is crowded to the limit of its capacity with passengers, as frequently happens in the practical operation of elevators where larger crowds are handled. Similarly, such projecting or exposed led e, shelf or other form of extension below the atchway door affords a source of danger of a passenger on the car being crowded against the same, or sufficiently far through the car door oropening as to be caught between such shelf, ledge or extension and roof edge of the car door opening and so injured, maimed or crushed,-if not killed. A great many serious and often fatal accidents have resulted from this source,

necessitating, inmany localities, the adoption of special laws and regulations requiring the elevator cars as well as the hatchways to be rovided with doors whereby passen ers of t e car are locked within the car, by 0 es in the car door, thereb avoidin the possibi ityof being caught between file floor or roof of the car, when the car is ascending or descendin as the case may be, and the ledge or shelf over or below the hatchway door.

The provision of a door, on the car, in addition to the hatchway door, and the necessity for opening and closing said door in addition to the openin and closing of the hatchway doors, not onFy materially increases the expense of the apparatus by reason of the ad ditional door on the car, as well, as the o erating mechanism therefor, but also t e time required in opening and closing the car door at each sto made by the car, in addition to that required for opening and closing, or controlling the movements of the hatchway door, very materially curtails the carrying capacity per unit of time, of the elevator.

Moreover, the provision of an extra door whether with or without controlling mechanism therefor, for the car attendant to manipulate serves to increase the duties of such attendant and to detract from the care and attention that should be given to the running of the car and to the requests of the passengers to stop at the various floors where the passengers desire to alight.

It is among the special purposes of my present invention to provide means whereb I am enabled not only to avoid the additional expense involved in the provision of such door but also to avoid the additional care and the consequent division of attention of the car attendant.

.In carrying out my invention I propose to so mount the hetchwey doors with reference v to the inner well of the hetohvvoy in front of the cor doorway or opening that, when all the hatchwsy doors are closed, a substantially flush continuous surface is present-ed to such cor doorway throughout the entire travel of the car, and to this end, in

' accordance with my invention, 1 provide a Y with the inner surface of said hetchway Wall sections, and with the top and bottom edges of the door adjacent respectively the boti our and top edges of the hatchway Wall sections immediately above and below it. In this manner the doors when hung are not oil-set from the hatchwey wall but combine therewith to present, when closed, it flush substantially continuous surface in front of the cor doorway.

It is obvious that in a construction and arrangement embodying the principles of my invention as ohoveoutlined, it is necessary to provide the flush surface in front of the car doorway or opening, but by marking the hotchwsy doors at each landing as wide as the itsell' then, when the hetchwny etely open, the entire front be opened to permit the ins oi passengers, and this is a. t and valuable feature enhandling of crowds. will car may be filled it 'ts rout l5 iger oia cough or crowded between he rom or floor the se veen iioors and above end ciiiwev (lOOTS, the hatcherrengerl that the lie in substentiitliy pisne, while the top edge 1 adjacent the lower 21 l), l ir immediately edge each door is closeiy the d e oi the well sectio l], lying inunedicti y below it. As

' i the car doorway is coexwith that of the hstchwoy 1 closed. This may he the entire no front of the elevator car. As

above it, one

tensive 5 doors w width o shown, owever, end as usual, the cor isprovideo short sections of iront wells, as indicet st h between the proximate edges of vihic e ear doorway or opening occurs. My invention, however, is not to he iimited or restricted this end thehetchwey doors mono? have shown hatchwey. doors of the sliding,

type, two doors being arranged at each lend, ing, one sliding in one direction and the other sliding coincidently in the other direction, and any suitable or well known connections may be employed tosecure such coincident sliding movement. I prefer this type and arrangement of doors for the reoson that the widest possible area of door openingis otte-ined in the shortest space of time. ,As above indicated, however, my invention is not to be limited or restricted in this respect. I also suspend the doors on rollers F, orronged to operate on e treck G. 'lhctreclr and rollers, however, are on the outside of the doors, as shown, so that the inner surface of the door may present afiush smooth un broken surface with the inner surface of the hetchwey wall sections D shove end below it. i have also indicated at H, e power mechanism for operating the doors, such powermecha-nism operating upon the doors through it pivoted lever J, ordinary manner. "1 his power mechanism end lever, are also arranged on the outside of the door, as clesrly shown.

if desired, and in order to e-tr'ord light in the cor, instead of the doors being solid they may be provided with or other form of trens 'isrent panels, o n diceteri K.-

lYher-c power mechanism tor operating the doors, or where a. trech and rollers ore ernpioyed, I prefer to errenge them within a box ,or casing shove the doors are indicated et L,

ture of my invention and e construction einbodying the principies thereof, what I claim as new one useful and my own invention is: i. The combination with on elevator hstchwey inclosur of sliding door there plane when the doors are closed, a su )porti mg trackfor each door, each track being located outside the vertical plane of the inner I for, the inner surface of the door, when closed, lying in the same vertical plane with the inner surface of the wall of the hatchway inclosure above and below the door, door supporting means arranged on the outside of the inclosure, and power devices also arranged outside of the door for moving the latpler in the plane of the inner surface of the wa 2. An elevator hatchway inclosure having a door opening therethrough, and wall sections above and below the door opening, a

sliding door for said opening, the inner surface of the door, when closed, and the wall sections above and below the same, lying flush with each other, suspending devices for the door and power mechanism for moving the door in the plane of the inner surface of wall of the hatchway into and out of closed position, said suspending devices and power mechanism. being arranged outside of the plane of the flush surfaces.

3. An elevator hatchway inclosure having a door opening therethrough at each landing or floor, and wall sections above and below each door opening, a sliding door for each opening, the inner surfaces of the doors and the inner surfaces of the wall sections all lying flush with each other throughout the length of the hatchway when the doors are closed, and means arranged outside of the flush surfacesfor moving each door in the plane of the inner surface of the wall sections into and out of closed position.

4. An elevator hatchway inclosure having doorways or openings therethrough at each floor or landing, and wall sections above and below each door-way, a sliding door for each doorwa the inner surfaces of the doors when c osed all lying flush with the inner surfaces of the wall sections, means for suspending each door, said means being located outside the flush surfaces and means also located outside of the flush surfaces for moving each door in the plane of the inner surface ofthe wall sections into and out of closed position.

5. An elevator hatchway inclosure having doorways therethrough and wall sections above and below such doorways, and adjacent the up er and lower edges thereof, a sliding door or each doorway movable in the lane of the inner surface of the wall sections into and out of the closed position, the inner surfaces of the doors, and of the adjacent 5 wall sections all lying in the same vertical surfaces of the doors.

6. The combination of an elevator hatch- I way and a slidin door therefor and movable in the plane of t e inner surface of the wall i sections into and out of closed position, said ihatchway having-wall sections above and l below the door and having their inner surfaces lying in the same vertical plane with i the inner surface of the door when the latter is closed, and suspending devices for the sliding door, said suspending device being located outside the vertical plane of said inner surfaces.

7. The combination of an elevator hatchway and a door therefor, said door made in two parts, said parts moving in opposite dil above and. below the door, the door parts moving in the plane of the inner surface of the wall sections, the inner surfaces of the wall'sections and door, when closed, lying in the same vertical plane and supporting means for said door parts, said supporting means being located on the outside of the door parts.

8. The combination of an elevator hatchway and a sliding door therefor, said door movable in the plane of the inner surface of the wall sections of the hatchway into and .out of closed position, said hatchway having I wall sections above and below the door and 5 having their inner surfaces lying in the same vertical plane with the inner surface of the door when closed and suspending devices for the sliding door, said suspending devices being located on the outside of the door.

9. The combination of an elevator hatchway and a sliding door therefor, said door movable laterally in a right line into and out i of closed position, said hatchway having wall sections above and below the door and having their inner surfaces lying in the same vertical plane with the inner surface of the door when closed, and a supportin track and rollers for the door, said track 'an( rollers being on the outside of the door.

10. The combination of an elevator hatchway and a sliding door therefor, said door movable laterally in a right line into and out of closed position, said hatchway having wall sections above and below the door, and having the inner surfaces lying in the same vertical plane with the inner surface of the door when closed, and means for sliding said door, said means being arranged outside the door.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of the subscribing witnesses, on this sixteenth day of May A.D.,

HAROLD ROWN TREE.

\Vitnesses 5 J. B. BURDETT, l L. M. SHIELDS. 

